*saints and sinners- Ignatius and the Jesuits

With a catalyst of Ignatius and his six friends who founded the Jesuit order, the gospel and it's freeing for the sake of love of neighbor has (and continues) to shape and challenge our collective life together on this blue boat we call earth.

Probably one of the best films ever produced about spiritual life and the struggles of church, culture, and personal freedom and responsiblity. Certainly one of the best musical scores for film ever written.

saints and sinners- St Ignatius of Loyola

Another saint of Spanish origin who lived at the time of the reformation. Founder of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, the largest of Roman Catholic monastic orders.

“Teach us to give and not to count the cost”

*saints and sinners- St Patrick's Breastplate

saints and sinners- St Patrick

Irish saint of great reknown who was a missionary at the end of the 4th and start of the 5th century. Click here for more history.

Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.

saints and sinners- St Teresa of Avila

Laughter Came From Every Brick

Just these two words He spoke
changed my life,

"Enjoy Me."

What a burden I thought I was to carry--
a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me, "I know a song,
would you like to hear it?"

And laughter came from every brick in the street
and from every pore
in the sky.

After a night of prayer, He
changed my life when
He sang,

"Enjoy Me."

saints and sinners- St Teresa of Avila

Not Yet Tickled

How did those priests ever get so serious
and preach all that gloom?

I don't think God
tickled them
yet.

Beloved--hurry.

*saints and sinners- St Teresa of Avila

Clarity is Freedom

I had tea yesterday with a great theologian,
and he asked me,

"What is your experience of God's will?"

I like the question-
for the distillation of thought hones thought in others.
Clarity, I know, is freedom.

What is my experience of God's will?

Everyone is a traveler. Most all need lodging, food,
and clothes.

I let enter my mouth what will enrich me. I wear what
will make my eye content,
I sleep where I will
wake with the
strength to
deeply
love

all my mind can
hold.

What is God's will for a wing?
Every bird knows
that.

saints and sinners- St Teresa of Avila

Another Spanish mystic/poet(1515-1582), Teresa's work is marked by a deep desire for unity with God in all things to be realized through prayer and meditation.

From a distance all want to enter His house.
Once near, watch out for the guard dogs--
both four-legged and two.
Some of them are
crazy as
hell.

*saints and sinners- St John of the Cross

St John of the Cross was involved in the reform movement in Spain among his particular monastic order, the Carmelites. Kidnapped, imprisoned and beaten by a group of rival monks he penned the poem found below about this experience.

St John of the Cross was excommunicated by one pope during his lifetime for his work of reform but subsequently canonized by papal decree 131 years after his death.

I Cobbled Their Boots

How Could I love my fellow men who tortured me?

One night I was dragged into a room
and beaten near death with
their shoes

striking me hundreds of times
in the face, scarring me
forever.

I cried out for God to help me, until I fainted.

That night in a dream, in a dream more real than this world,
a strap from the Christ's sandal
fell from my bleeding
mouth,

and I looked at Him and He
was weeping, and
spoke,

"I cobbled their boots;
how sorry
I am.

What moves all things
is God."

History, and the realization of Christ's kingdom among us ultimately prove us all to be both saint and sinner. How else can a man be found the most egregious of sinners (excommunitcated) only to be named as the noblest of saints (canonized)? How else can one pope defame in the name of Christ and another acclaim as the purest of instruments of Christ? Is one wrong and one right? Or somehow, in some mysterious way where God moves all things, are they both wrong and right?

And in the middle of all history, we have a Lord who IS Truth Itself, who weeps for cobbling their shoes, apologizes for their actions, and dies for their (and all of our) sins.

saints and sinners- St John of the Cross

Arrogance

The weight of arrogance is such
that no bird can fly
carrying it.

And the man who feels superior
to others, that man cannot dance,

the real dance when the soul takes God
into its arms and you both fall
onto your knees in
gratitude,

a blessed gratitude
for life.

saints and sinners- St John of the Cross

The Essence of Desire

I did not
have to ask my heart what it wanted,
because of all the desires I have ever known just one did I cling to
for it was the essence
of all desire:

to hold beauty in
my soul's
arm.

saints and sinners- St John of the Cross

Spanish mystic poet (1542-1591) who was forcibly converted to Christianity as a child and would eventually become Carmelite friar and reformer. More history.

“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”

heading home, leaving home, and thankfully praying the journey would be both.

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.

Henry Van Dyke

Cain, Abel, the beginning and the end

I appreciate the public proclamation of theology and scripture immensely as it is expressed on the side of this building in the lower ninth ward in New Orleans. And the image above captures a pain that is unknowable for someone who has not lived in one of the most violent cities in the United States. But in fairness to the scripture, it needs to be noted that there are two chapters of Genesis that proceed the story of Cain and Abel. Two chapters of scripture that tell us that what God created was 'good' and 'very good' before the distrusting actions of Adam and Eve in chapter 3 and the murder over religion that we find in chapter 4.

And on the last page of most Bibles, just before we reach the final 'amen' at the conclusion of the the book of Revelation, we are again brought back to a garden-like vision of goodness and light where a river of life flows clear and clean and the leaves on the tree of life are for the healing of the peoples.

In a world living in the now and the not yet, where killing over religion, ethnicity, and disrespect seems to be out of control; in a world where the waters rage killing hundreds of thousands through a single tsunami, millions through its dirtiness that brings disease, and hundreds via breeched levees...

we keep our eyes on the beginning and the end

and we live our lives as those shaped by the one who calls us to action

in the middle

of

it

all

choosing our better history

" Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

Every generation has its shared defining moments in history that we personally tag and remember where we were and what we were doing as particular monumental events unfolded. My parents talk about remembering where they were when they heard about Pearl Harbor being bombed and the assassination of JFK. I remember where I was when I heard about the space shuttle Challenger disaster and the tragic events of 9/11.

As I heard the words above spoken by new president Barack Obama as part of his inauguration speech, I was sitting in a 15 passenger van with a handful of folks preparing to get to work in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans 40 months post Katrina.

The degree of devastation that remains here is almost beyond belief.

But the hope... it will not die among those who live and labor here.

Out of suffering, an enduring spirit continues to choose hope over fear and walk a long and rugged path that defines us as a nation.

words of wisdom for the wayfaring

Thought I would share a poem that a friend wrote recently that I found to be inpsiring as we move into the new year.

anger aggravates, accommodates, advocates abuse.
authenticity awakens action.
beatitudes bear burdens with bold, brave, beautiful belief.
condemnation consumes, confines, confuses, cancels, quenches.
charity cheerfully choses changeless truthful chance.
desolate isolation destructs, depresses, represses.
darkness doubts and disguises.
dissatisfaction deters, destroys, defiles, defies, denies.
Daddy's divine detox and definite decisions define- directing daily dancing destiny.
eternally expressive encouragement enables courage.
foolishness and fraud ferment & fester, fool, fail & frustrate.
forgiven fearless freedom flows from firmaments' faithful, founding Father.
faith followers find friendship, family and favor.
humanity hoards and harbors hate, humiliating humility.
hurting, hungry hearts hide.
holy happiness harbors holistically healthy harmony.
ill, illegitimate, irreverent, irrelevant impermanence interrupts.
eternal, ingenious, insightful, innovative intelligence inspires.
jubilance joins justice, joyfully judging junk jurisdiction.
kindred kindness kindles and cultivates compassionate community.
love listens and laments.
life liberates.
mankind misunderstands and miscommunicates.
miracles & mercy mend mistakes.
neighborliness nurtures.
honest opportunity overrules ostracizing oppression.
plentiful plans pervade, persuade personal pursuits.
Prince of permanent peace paves, preserves, prepares, protects, provides perfect paths.
purity portrays passionate potential.
patience perseveres.
quiet confidence confides, communicating candidly.
rage ravages with revengeful rampant regret.
real, righteous wisdom refreshes, reflects, respects, requests right, relevant routes.
spiritual sickness soils saliva.
stubborn, stained sentiments send sharp shattering signals.
sweet, simple, soulful sincerity shares.
tongues torture.
truth trusts.
understanding observes.
wise warmth restores, redirects waywardness, reawakening wild, refreshing, reflective wonder.


Thanks Arli for a beautiful bit of bold purposeful prose!

waiting... for the One who brings a new song

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.

psalm 40:1-3

*waiting...to become child-like

Jesus associates child-like eyes with our ability to see the kingdom of God in our lives and the world around us. On Saturday I invited the kids at ROJ to make Christmas cards to go with the gifts that we are giving to residents of a local teen homeless shelter. I told the ROJ kids that these children will not be spending this Christmas with their moms and dads.

The card below reflects child-like kingdom vision, where the only reason that a child would not be with their parent(s) on Christmas is because they were somehow lost and unable to find their way home.




The hope we share in Christmas is that a lost and broken world, rife with the troubles of tattered personal relationships, shattered dreams, financial worries, disease, death and despair; would find rest and peace in finding her way home through a baby who lies in a manger.

waiting...on the world to change

I think John Mayer has humanity pegged in identifying our inability to change the world on our own. You can be an armchair critic, a passionate and zealous advocate, or and indifferent clod. None of these will change the world.

The good news for the world is that we don't have to change the world because Christ already has! This is why we celebrate Christmas, because the light that causes darkness to hide has entered the world for the sake of the world.

Our challenge as those who have heard this news is one of faith: to believe this God-directed change is underway and that Christ is in charge, to identify where this brightening of the world is happening, and participate as we live into this changing of the world.

Such a life of faith ushers in peace and joy as we join in a conspiracy of change that gives life and hope to a waiting world.

waiting... with the voice of the homeless

I gave away my first glovebox bundle last night as we headed downtown to a concert. Three things about sharing this gift are stuck in my mind. First, the man’s voice saying over and over again “thank you, thank you, thank you” as we pulled away from the curb. It is a voice that will stick with me for a long time. Second, what seemed like a scene in slow motion as I was watching him in the side view mirror as he intently examined the bag and then looked up in wonder as we were driving away. And third, how the Christmas music seemed to touch me in a deeper part of my being.

Kinda weird huh?

Click here to visit the Love in the Glovebox website and see how you can share love one stoplight at a time.